Mexico Beach voters file petition with 200 signatures to recall Mayor Michele Miller

MEXICO BEACH − Some local residents have started the process of recalling Mayor Michele Miller.

According to Mark Andersen, Bay County supervisor of elections, local residents on Monday filed a petition with 200 signatures to recall Miller, who is in the midst of a lawsuit against the City Council for allegedly withholding financial information about the city from her.

With the petition filed, Andersen's office now will work to verify the signatures. The first step in the recall process requires that at least 10% of a city's registered voters sign a petition. There are about 1,000 registered voters in Mexico Beach.

From there, a second petition will be issued that includes a 200-word defense statement from Miller. If the second petition receives signatures from at least 15% of Mexico Beach voters, a recall would be held, with its date set by a local judge.

"It's pretty complicated, and they're just in the very beginning stages," Andersen said. "It's a starting point. ... Nobody knows what the timeline is."

Miller, who was elected to the position earlier this year, alleges that financial information about the city was intentionally withheld from her by former City Administrator Douglas Baber and current City Administrator Chris Hubbard under the direction of some council members, who were not named in the suit.

Marie Mattox, a Tallahassee-based lawyer representing Miller, has said the legal action was lodged to "compel compliance" with the Mexico Beach City Charter, which says the mayor is the city's chief elected administrative and fiscal official. The legal filing, technically called a petition for a writ of mandamus and injunctive relief, was filed Sept. 1 in circuit court.

More on the situation: Mexico Beach says many 'Recall Miller' signs posted throughout city are illegally placed

Miller claims that shortly after she was sworn in as mayor in April, she requested the current contracts of Mexico Beach. She allegedly received the contracts but was then denied access to the city's software to monitor its finances. She has said both requests were made to help her gather information for the position

The News Herald made multiple unanswered attempts to contact Miller before deadline about the initial recall petition being filed Monday.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Mexico Beach voters file petition to recall of Mayor Michele Miller